Wendy Mercier, Ph.D., M.S.N., A.C.N.P.

EDUCATION

B.S.N. Pennsylvania State UniversityM.S.N. University of PennsylvaniaPh.D. Temple UniversityAt Eastern Since 1997

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Wendy Mercier came to Eastern in 1997 to teach a First Aid course and never left. A native of Pennsylvania, she began her vocation in nursing and an avocation teaching aerobic dance. Combining these two pursuits, healthcare and exercise, she later became an exercise specialist who focuses on the therapeutic value of exercise on disease prevention and disease treatment, with a concentration in cardiovascular health. She teaches in three departments: Kinesiology, Biology and Nursing. In 2002 she won the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Research interests include vascular responses to the physiological stress of exercise in heat and humidity, cardiovascular pathology (stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure) and, more recently, human behavior as it relates to physical activity. She has 35+ years of clinical experience in emergency and acute care nursing, and practices part-time as a cardiology nurse practitioner. She is also certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as a Health/Fitness Instructor, certified by the American Heart Association in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, certified by the American Red Cross as a CPR & First Aid Instructor, and an Associate Member of the American College of Cardiology. Her current project is assessing the effectiveness of a university-based Life Fitness course on the health-related attitudes and behaviors of college-aged students, and their effects on attitudes and health behaviors of college students. She loves running, tennis, volleyball, skiing, snowboarding, her family, and arguing politics with friends.

WHY I TEACH AT EASTERN

Teaching is a lot like child-rearing. It’s messy. The up-front investment is high, and the rewards are delayed, but when they come they are well-worth all the work. To teach well you have to be willing to allow some chaos as students meet new ideas and link concepts, often for the first time. You also have to give students just the right amount of autonomy, and a safe space, so they can discover for themselves, while guiding with the deft hand. Teaching is relational work that requires a delicate balance of encouragement, cajoling, threatening, supporting, pleading and celebration. It requires trust and respect between the student and the teacher. I teach at Eastern because it’s a Christ-centered community with an ethos of respect for each other that allows for that safe space for learning to occur. Messy, relational, and meaningful learning occurs here.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

The effects of exercise on human physiology and pathophysiology; physical activity behaviors; exercise in the prevention and treatment of heart disease; the pedagogy of clinical case study.

Mercier W., Shaw C., & Paolone A.. Menstrual Cycle Effects on Plasma Volume and Protein Movement During Exercise in the Heat, Annual National Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, June 2, 2004